Eternity
by NymphetamineOverdose
Summary: LinkXSaria. She is immortal. He is mortal. Both of them know this. Both of them loath the fact. Will they simply submit to this Or will they fight for their right to be with who their souls cry out for? WILL REWRITE SOON
1. Forbidden Destiny

Here it is; Link X Saria...

Note: If happy ending is what you want, you won't find it here. Just a warning. If you've read my Naruto stories (Like Taming Tayuya), this story will take a much more tragic turn than something like Taming Tayuya in which it is a pretty much overall... a happy story.

**This is NOT a one-shot.**

* * *

I am the Forest Sage. 

Well… that much is obvious… but I also hold a secret.

Everyone perceives that sages are mysterious and silent. We speak in riddles and they always appear so flawless and pure. We appear mystical and supernatural and few have the chance to even see us. We are of a higher being and we watch over their places as they seek us in need of wisdom and guidance. We are praised, exalted, and even envied as an immortal being who never withers away.

But many miss the point entirely.

Sages have feelings and no matter how ghastly and shapeless our presence is to their lives, our emotions are very real.

We hurt.

We bleed.

We laugh.

We cry.

We rejoice.

We mourn.

We contemplate.

We love.

Although we cannot show it.

Believe it or not, it is true.

Whether many people know it or not, it is the inescapable, undeniable truth.

They envy us with our beauty, our wisdom, our immortality… but what they do not grasp are the things they envy.

Beauty is not too big of a factor, but the wisdom makes us too perfect in action. We do not even cry a word without careful consideration. That means no mistakes. No bad mistakes… No good mistakes… Not making the mistakes that we want to make… The force of wisdom is too powerful for us. It makes us mechanical and inhuman. But that's what makes us a higher being. Possession of this level of wisdom means sacrifice of all humanly desires. We cannot ever be greedy, we cannot afford to be lazy, we must not unleash our wrath in a way that would hurt even the tiniest form of life, we cannot show our envy towards humans - or hylians, rather, we cannot even enjoy our status, and most painful of all, we cannot express our love towards the things we love. Or in my case, the person I love.

No. We must be strict and wise. We must never let our guard down. We must always listen to what wisdom tells us to do. Eternally.

Yes. The immortality that most of them envy… with this wisdom… with this torment… we carry that for eternity.

Knowing this, would they ever be envious of us sages again?

Would they want to seek the wisdom that is built off of our bleeding hearts and trapped souls? Our invisible tears?

Can they trust us with the knowledge that we can _feel? _

The only things that are keeping me sane are the memories of the past. My childhood, my friends…

And the memories of _him._

We laughed together.

We played together.

We cried together.

We were always together.

We _were _always… _always _together.

But destiny tore us apart.

So now here I am, deep in the dense forest of Kokiri, behind the walls of Forest Temple, counting my time until my never coming death, hoping that he'd appear at the door, shouting my name to play with him. Pulling at my wrist to hurry up. Shouting at me with his cheery and crisp voice to jump in the water and assuring me that it's not that cold.

But after the pleasant flashback comes that fateful day when a fairy finally found him. I was happy for him.

And I rooted for him when he left.

I was a little sad, yes.

But unlike me, he couldn't stay a kid forever.

He had to grow, I had to stay.

And I accepted that fact.

I was a child and I didn't think much of what it meant to grow. What it meant to mature. I wish I still had that state of mind.

Being a sage, I've aged without my body ever catching up to the level of maturity my thoughts and my actions have become. I've grown in all areas to face the never ending cycle of life that I would never become a part of. I was a child, only in appearance.

Proof? Why is that necessary? Isn't it enough that I now know what it means to suffer? What it means to sacrifice? What it means to long for something that I desire from the bottom of my heart? What I crave with my very soul?

I imagine him in my head everyday. I imagine him and long for him to shout my name to play with me, yes. But he did come back one day to the forest.

After seven long years, he came back. He was an adult then, but I recognized him right away. He was my friend. How could I not?

But my damned heart began to respond to his manhood. No… I said that wrong. The feeling had always been there. It was so subtle that I never even noticed. I knew I wanted more than what we had then too but I thought it was because he was different. I thought it was because he was my best friend I ever had. After long years of not seeing him once, it all rushed to me and that was when it was painfully clear that I've made a painful mistake that I could never make up for. That I could never fix.

Even today, I imagine him standing tall and refined, with his childish features firmed into the roughness of a man. I imagine him wielding his sword with fierce power and intense determination with his muscular arms moving vigorously. I imagine his adorable grin developed into an assuring grin that made me feel safe and secure. I imagine his golden locks whipping across his beautifully matured face with his glinting blue eyes looking at me longingly.

I wish I still didn't understand why I wanted to suddenly press my lips onto his in the middle of a splash-war. I wish I still did not understand why it felt so warm when he held my hand, why it left a burning sensation after he let goes. I wish I still was just an oblivious kid to all these things. I wish that I never even understood the thing called growing up.

Because I am the Forest Sage and he is the Hero o Time. Because I'll never see him again. Because he is alive and I only exist. Because one day, he will age and die while I remain forever young and forever be.

Because I love him so much that it hurts and he will never ever know of it.

* * *

"Whoa, whoa," I said as I hush Epona to a halt. 

Epona gradually stops and stare into whatever interested her.

Here I am again… contemplating.

I'm looking at it.

The entrance to my home.

It's so tempting to just enter it.

But that was out of the question.

I didn't belong there.

And plus, what I was looking for - or rather, _who _I was looking for… wouldn't be there even if I went into the Kokiri Forest.

_It's destiny that you and I were not meant to live in the same world._

Her words ring in my head.

At that time, I was too shocked to speak. I was too shocked to even move. I was so shocked that I didn't even notice the Forest Medallion. I wasn't paying attention to that - I was looking at _her. _Her familiar face… her strange eyes. They were no longer the eyes that I knew. They used to be so clear and joyful, but when I looked into them then, it felt as if a haze settled on her pupils and a mystical aura was gleaming in them. That was when I realized… she was immortal.

She always was. But now, more than ever, she was immortal.

"_Hey Link, come on, you sleepy head! The sun's shining! That's telling you something, you know… you sleep too much."_

"_Link, the water's too cold… I'm not getting in."_

"_I'm gonna hurt you if you walk in here with those muddy boots… LINK! GET OVER HERE, I'M GOING TO HURT YOU!"_

"_We'll always be friends, right?"_

Of course we will…

I sigh heavily.

Unwillingly, I give Epona a light kick that motioned her to start walking again.

My gaze refuse to tear away from the place where I long to be. I want to tell Epona to stop. I want to get off and run into my home and embrace the girl I miss deep into my chest.

But I know that I have to bury that thought.

And bury the memories I have.

Because unlike her, I don't have the eternity to embrace my past.

I am a mortal and I have to move on.

Time counts against me.

I'm different from her.

I always was.

Maybe she could find it in her heart to forgive me one day. She _did _have an eternity to think about it. Or if she didn't want to… that's okay.

Mortals were selfish.

Mortals didn't know any better.

I am a mortal.

Even though I didn't want to believe it, I am a mortal and she is not. She never ever was. It was my fault.

And even if I try to fix things… even if I release her now… it causes pain.

But I hope the eternity would make her forget.

Forget me.

Forget our friendship.

It's enough that I can remember it all, and I'll take it with me.

Wishing that I can so this, I pass my home where my heart lay again.

I turn my head again.

This isn't the first time that I've done this and it won't be the last.

I bury my memories everyday.

But somehow… no matter how many times I do… new ones pop up. No matter how many times I pledge to move on, my footsteps lead back here. To leave again. My heart feels dead.

And then again, my foolish heart hopes that I can be with her again someday.

It's a false hope that I can never seem to kill. But hope also means that a heart is not dead.

_Somehow, I still think I can reach you._

_But until then… my heart sleeps._

I wonder how long I can wait.

After all, my life is a short one.

And her's would be timeless.

* * *

There... I hope you liked it. This is not the most popular pairing but... oh well... 


	2. A Beloved Friend

The leaves are rustling peacefully as they whisper of things that only the forest knows of. Even I, a sage cannot always comprehend what they are speaking of. Do they whisper tales of a past so ancient beyond my understanding? Or do they predict the coming future of this land? Or is it the present? Or is it just plain nonsense?

As a little girl… well, I guess I'm _still _a little girl in a twisted way. Back when I was among the children of the Kokiri, I thought the forest spoke wonders. I always wanted to know more and stood amazed at the mysteries it held, even though I was a part of it.

Such foolish optimism it was…

Such foolish curiosity I had…

Because now I know everything.

Accepting my duty as a sage, the forest provides me with more knowledge than I ever wanted, telling me things that I never even wanted to know about.

However, the movement of the leaves are always so concealed, only driven by the wind that came by them. The leaves have no mind of their own, for they do not stand by their own roots or have a firm hold to keep them intact. Their only duty is to live until they are needed anymore.

Then they are discarded without hesitation, without anyone grieving their loss, without anyone to embrace them… the only thing that awaits them is pain and torment as the sun drains the life out of them, as animals big and small grinds them into powdery shards, as the winds that once befriended them carries them away, as they fade transparent.

I wonder that's what I will become…

I wonder if the winds of destiny will have me suffer the same fate.

* * *

It's a nice day today.

Well… actually, that shouldn't even be considered a news because it's always nice in Hyrule.

So I decided to do what I always did and packed up to fish.

I've always loved fishing ever since… well ever since I left the forest. It was a time off from my usual day of annihilating monsters or being stuck in a dungeon wondering what the hell to do. It gave me serenity and time to recollect and rest… but also gave me an opportunity to improve my reflex and have a nutritional meal at the same time.

I always sat there and thought about my best friend Saria after I left Kokiri Forest. Then, when I met Zelda… well, I must guiltily admit, I dreamt about Zelda. I really thought I loved Zelda. Sometimes I thought about Malon too. Thinking about Saria did nothing more than bring a smile on my face, thinking back on the times we've spent together. Zelda and Malon - I thought - meant something much different.

Then when time came for me to truly awaken as the Hero of Time after seven years… The truth struck me so hard that it hurt.

I loved Saria.

Everyone looked at my worried face and assured that Zelda was just fine… _Zelda… _What they didn't realize was… It wasn't Zelda I was worried about. Well, I was worried about Zelda - don't get me wrong - but not as much as I worried about the girl Kokiri that was my first friend.

For her, I entered the graveyard and raced a creepy ghoul.

For her, I slashed down the enemies in my path through the maze of the Sacred Forest Meadow.

For her… I went through the cursed Forest Temple to free her… I didn't know anything about her being a damned sage. I didn't even care.

I thought all that mattered was getting her back safely.

When I finally defeated the Phantom Ganon, I thought everything was going to be all right.

I thought…

When she appeared before me, she seemed like a completely different person.

Then I felt the pain.

I felt my heart tearing asunder.

She was a sage.

She was a _sage._

I knew of it already but when I actually saw her standing in front of me, still pale and tiny with eyes gleaming with ancient aura, my mind went numb.

Oh by goddesses… she was a _sage. _

Oh, I feel a bite on my rod. I reel in slowly and find that it is a little difficult than usual.

Good, it must be a big one.

I reel in harder, feeling excitement in my heart for the first time in many months. My hands spun the handle with more effort and speed as the nylon line stretched back and forth between the lake and the rod. This was nice. I've always enjoyed a nice tug-o-war in a situation like this. It shows which of us are truly superior… sort of.

Back then, I almost always lost, falling into the lake instead of pulling the fish out but now, it's either the brave ones hang on to get cooked or the bastards let go of the bait in which I reel in the empty hook back to the surface. In either case, I won.

Today was much the same.

The fish surfaced up, twisting and springing violently in agony as the curved edge of the hook pierced the piece of its flesh to hold up its entire weight.

I reel it closer to me as its movements grow still more restless as terror overpowered the pain.

I grip it with my hands firmly as it squirms and struggles beneath my hands.

Its scales are dull-colored yet hard and the muscles beneath it are firm and toned. No wonder it was harder catch than usual…

It watches me as I contemplate what I should do. It can feel the time ticking by as the hellish moments seem to drag on forever. Will it die? Or will it live?

Would I let it die or would I spare it?

It gasps for the water, its gills gape open and shut, as it still hangs there by a hook caught on the back of its throat.

I can't feel its pain.

But yet I can feel it so clearly.

As it pleads for mercy, as its movements grow limp as hope fades out, as death comes to it silently yet so lethally…

When I throw it back in, it's too late to save the damned life.

Death had already done its job.

It never fails to accomplish its job.

Even through immortality.

Fishing… just never felt the same to me.

Not anymore.

The lifeless flesh floats on the surface for scavengers to devour.

And I simply pack up and leave.

I climb on Epona's back and ride off again to wherever my hands feel like turning towards. I really have no where specific to go. I really have no direction that I set my mind on. I just go wherever I go… wherever the wind blows… wherever my mind directs me to go… just because I don't have anywhere to go.

Epona's hoof beats are muffled by the grass beneath to create a thumping noise.

No one is out on the field… as always.

Though beautiful, this always have been such a lonely place. Who was going to travel around in the field for so long if I were to finally die?

My thoughts were interrupted by a presence of another being.

I looked towards the presence that now occupied the field besides me.

A fairy…

It flew around calmly towards me and when I reached out my hand, the delicate creature rested on it. I could feel its gentle aura glowing on my hand but it was neither cold nor warm.

But the feeling was so familiar.

It flapped wings gently as the satin wings brushed against my hand.

"Navi…?" I called out.

She swayed her tiny body to make a single nodding motion.

I held her within my two palms now. "Navi! What are you doing here?" I ask with sheer joy in my voice, but my joy was shattered by her next words.

"Link, I'm dying."

My voice froze in my throat and that was when I noticed how more fragile she had become. Her aura was much weaker than it had been and her wings were torn in certain places. Life was draining out of her. "Navi…" I trailed my thumb over her, barely touching the frail spirit.

"Link… I can no longer fly… please, can you take me to the Kokiri? That is the only place that I may rest in peace…"

I blinked in surprise.

The Kokiri?

"I'm so sorry to suddenly turn up and ask you such a favor but…"

"Shh, Navi," I said. "I will take you to Kokiri. Don't worry," I said as soothingly as possible.

It broke me to see her like this… my fairy… my guide… my only friend that I thought I would always have…

She was dying.

Silently, I led Epona along to the place where I thought I would never return to.

All for the sake of an old friend who would leave me soon…

Very soon.

* * *

I know that was still very short but I promised to update and so there... mehh... You know what returning to Kokiri means... right? 


	3. Parting Gift

I believe that it had been at least good ten years since I last left this scenery behind and not so much had changed from then to this moment where I take hesitant steps toward my old home where I vowed to never return. Everything was perfectly as I left it since eternity of life is pretty much guaranteed to anything or anyone born within the boundaries of the forest and stays within the boundaries of the forest.

I looked down to the fading blue light of the fairy who gave up that eternity for the sake of Hyrule. Death was a strange thing for her kind. Her kinds were immortal, guarded by the magic of the Kokiri Forest or Fairy's Fountain. So why is_ she _dying?

Remember, that she was a fairy to a boy without a fairy. What she had done was noble and honorable… yet the price the titles demanded was the cost of her immortality. With me at her side, she exited the forest to the world outside, exposed to the cold winds of the night, to the extreme heat of volcanic craters, to the suffocating pressure of waters, to the hollow abyss of tombs, the sweltering might of the sun, and finally to the hellish darkness that frail creatures of light could not possibly survive from. For the safety of her land, to obey a command of her beloved master and for the sake of a confused and a lost friend, she bore through all that and now it was time for her to pay her price.

Her once warm and cheerful blue aura that rang warm sensation throughout my body was now nothing more than a faint blue light gently held in my palm.

I gazed at her fondly just before noticing that there was a child looking up at me. "Hello," He said.

I looked at him.

He was a Kokiri but was unfamiliar to me. Must have been given life after I've left this forest. Obviously he didn't recognize me either, because he then said "Who are you?"

I smiled to him. "I don't really have a name. What's your's?" I wasn't going to give away my name. He would tell the other Kokiri. It was best if no one knew of my being here in the forest.

Although I missed them all terribly.

"Hete," He said, proudly. "I'm on a mission to rescue the Forest Sage!"

I gave him a blank look.

"Rescue her?"

"That's quite right, mister."

"…Why?"

"Well… because… I want to be a better man than Mido. He's always bragging about how he's so great and he is the protector of the Forest Sage and things… But by rescuing her from stupid Mido, I'll be better than him!"

I laughed. Oh, Mido… how he hadn't changed a bit. Well, he would _always _be a child. Children do not change often. How I've missed him as well… "Well, whoever Mido is, he must be a huge show-off that must hog all the glory for the Forest Sage to see," I said.

"Yeah! How did you know that?"

"Lucky guess…" I replied.

"Well, I'll be off… where are you off to, mister?" He asked.

I looked back to Navi. "Somewhere… my friend needs to go to," I answered.

Hete shrugged. "I hope you find it! See ya!" He ran off.

I just stared at him.

I wished I was the kid at the moment. I wished I could seek out to her so openly, so freely… so free of any guilt or doubt… although he had no idea where he was even going, at least I would have a joy in my heart that I'll find her someday.

But I wasn't Hete, I was Link.

And Link was not to seek her although he knew exactly where she was.

I walked a bit further into the Forest, making a wide loop around the village.

"Link," Navi suddenly called me.

"Don't talk."

"It's okay. I know the precise moment when I shall die. But listen to me."

"What is it?"

"Link, do you have an empty bottle with you?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked. My voice shook as I said, because I knew exactly what she meant and she knew me far too well to stop and explain what I already knew. After all, she had no time to waste.

"I'm dying, Link, and I don't want to waste the moment of death that the fate had granted me. Take me to the Fairy's Fountain in the Lost Woods… when I glow violet, take your bottle and-"

"Navi…" I cut her off, abruptly.

"Think about it, Link. Over the time we've had together, I've become your best friend. I know your feelings for her. I know that if you can see the way to be with her, you would take it. This is your chance."

That was true. But, "Even if I become immortal by receiving your life energy, she's a sage. I'm a… a…" There was a problem. Exactly, what was I? I was nothing.

The Hero of Time. That was the only way to explain who I am. But now that everything is over, now that there was peace ruling the land, I was nothing.

"The sages are nothing more than slaves, Link. Same with us fairies. There is a secret I've discovered… and the Great Fairies decided to end my life sooner because of it. " Navi said.

"What?" I said, infuriated.

"Link. Listen to me. Take me to the Fairy's Fountain. A second before my soul escape this useless body of mine, I will emerge with one of the healing fairies. You already know what a dying fairy and a healing fairy makes. Use your bottle to capture me. You'll need it," Navi said, distantly.

I closed my eyes.

Navi was offering to become a Life Fairy which grants immortality to one mortal. This also meant that her soul would not rest in peace, but rather cease to exist as it is consumed by the mortal who receives the fairy's immortal life. Ironically, only the complete fusion of a dying fairy and a Healing Fairy can become the Life Fairy.

"You can't do that, Navi. I won't let you do that."

"If you are to consume me, you will become immortal," Navi said, quickly. "But remember, there is a secret I learned that cost me my life. If an immortal such as the Forest Sage is to consume me… she will become a mortal soul. Just like you."

Neither of us spoke to one other for a long time as the sun sank lower in the horizon and the world surrounding me was dyed to a golden hue. It was night time when reached the tiny village that brought back a rush of emotion. Tears threatened to escape my eyes as place of my childhood remained unchanged in front of me.

The same place where she and I were both children.

Now we were too old to play such games like we did back then.

"Hurry Link," Navi whispered. "I haven't got much time now…"

I turn my steps towards the Lost Woods.

I'm getting dangerously close to her.

And it makes me frightened.

This is a selfish thing to do. And more than anything else? What if Saria declines? What if she had forgotten me? What would happen if the chance that Navi grants me with her own life just shatters and she had died for nothing at all?

The hollow echoes of my footstep through the tunnel only served to crescendo that fear.

I remember the very first time that I passed this place. It was long ago. This place never welcomed me inside - not back then, and not now. First, it kept me off with horrifying tales of children that never returned, Second, I had to go find Saria twice with both times faced with a rather intimidating enemies, and now it's just a place forbidden for me to enter for this is the very place she dwells. For in the deepest part of the hollow, dead tunnels, stays someone I've lost forever, interdicted by destiny itself.

I sped through the maze once I've reached the Sacred Forest Meadow. It was not even a maze to me anymore since I've been here too many times already. The Fairy Fountain existed just before the stairway that would lead into the Forest Temple. I entered the pit where Fairy Fountain lay beneath.

Navi then left my hands and fluttered close to the ground.

"Navi, I'll carry you," I hurry towards her.

"No, Link. Let me."

I listened to her as I held in my desire to take her in my hands. "Navi… you don't have to…"

"You don't deserve pain, Link. You deserve everything better," She said faintly.

Tears rolled down my cheeks and the sensation was strange. I had not cried in years. I wiped the annoyance off of my face and ran after her. "Navi!"

"Ready your bottle, Link."

"Navi, _hold on_!"

"There is no time to hold on," Navi said as she flew to my face. She leaned against my cheek for what felt like a kiss. "I love you, Link. Take my gift. It's the only thing left that I can offer you."

I slumped on my knees.

I didn't want her to die.

I didn't want to take her life.

But then again, mortals were selfish. For I knew, deep inside of my heart, I _wanted _Navi to do this.

I _wanted _to be with Saria.

I _wanted _to trade my friend's life for my happiness.

And she was willing to let me.

A pink healing fairy gracefully came next to my blue friend.

"Good bye, Navi… thank you… I'll never forget you…" I said.

"Be happy," were her living soul's last words before her blue aura fused with the healing fairy.

Everything grew violet then as I shielded my eyes from the blinding light.

When the light faded, everything was back to normal. I was kneeling by the clear waters, the marble pillars standing and shining, and the pink fairies flying about gracefully. Except, there was one radiant violet fairy flying in the middle of the fountain. It flew towards me ever so gently and landed on my outstretched hand.

It was the Life Fairy.

I captured it in the bottle and rested my cheek on it. "Navi…" I called out.

I wasn't sure if it was sadness, thankfulness, or guilt that I felt right then but it also could have been all of them infused with each other, making it an emotion where no definition was possible.

But her death gave birth to a hope that had not existed before.

We will either be united to die as one, or we will be torn apart for eternity.

It was all up to _her _now.


	4. Heavenly Sin

Plants generally like sunny days. When it is bright and sunny, it absorbs the light and the warmth that embraces its fragile life as a single bud blooms to a beautiful flower for the world to see its glory. Sunny days are always welcomed by the plants as they hum happily across the field of green. When the sun sets, they give a heartfelt farewell, although they know full well that it'll be here the next day and then the next.

Little do they know that the true heat of the sun would scorch, burn, and drain the life out of them.

Yes. In the distance, blended with the fields of flowers and the lavish green of forests, the sun is a thing of beauty, a life giver, an admirable existence.

But far beyond the sky, over the clouds, past the moon, and the distance uncaptured by the eyes of this world, stays the sun, lonely, untouchable, and, ever-burning with fury. It's better to admire it from afar than to approach it to discover what grueling existence it really is.

For that, I've grown to dislike the sun shining above with its fake smiling mask looking down upon me and the forest. But it wasn't as if _my _opinions mattered to the existence older than history of Hyrule.

My, my… I'm being childish again. Funny how I - yet again - contradict myself.

Oh well. It's probably the only thing that amuses me nowadays.

Hyrule's been at peace for awhile now. Everything is perfectly in order, with the Queen Zelda - bless her soul - ruling the land in her wisdom, and with people finally finding their place in the land. Hyrule was prospering greatly with the sages smiling behind the scenes with the Hero of Time.

Except me, I wasn't smiling.

Am I selfish to announce such? Perhaps. However, no one would ever know as long as I do not speak a word of it. No one would notice as long as I do not appear unhappy.

But why even bother?

No one comes by me anymore.

And perhaps that is why I feel so self-conscious right now.

I could feel someone coming. A presence in the woods heading closer to my direction. I wondered who it could be. Probably another lost Kokiri child looking for the way out, when in fact, he is walking deeper into the woods. Maybe he wants to catch a glimpse of me, not knowing that I look just like them. How lucky of this person. No one succeeded to coming so close to me before. Not so lose that I can feel their presence.

Or maybe, it was _him._

But that was not to be thought of for obvious reasons.

Should I smile? Should I wave? How should I greet this person?

I stepped out of the Forest Temple.

There stood a child much like me, looking at me with confused pair of eyes.

There was a moment of silence between us.

But he was the first to break it. "Are you the Forest Sage?" He asked.

"I am." I answered him.

"Will you come with me?"

I looked into the child's hopeful eyes. And then I smiled. I stepped off of the ledge and I think I startled him a little, but after seeing that I was unhurt, he relaxed a bit. "Your name?"

"Hete…"

"I am Saria."

"I know…" He seemed to be dazed.

"Why do you ask of me to go with you?"

"Because… Mido - our stupid leader, that is - said that…"

I smiled again at the familiar name. "Oh, Mido… I know of him. We were such good friends."

"He _was_?" Hete looked at me in disbelief.

"Best among the Kokiri," I answered him.

"Will you come with me?" He asked again.

I looked at him. And then looked at the temple I must protect. "No, I cannot."

Hete's face contorted into a painful expression that did not belong to a child's. "Please… I beg of you…"

I held his hand. "I shall return you. But take this with you for I cannot fulfill your request," I said as I handed him a small necklace that was around my neck. It was worthless to me, but it would mean something to a child who was so excited to see me.

And I was right for his mouth stretched to a grin. "Thank you…" He said.

"Good bye," I said to him, as I summoned a blue portal to take him to the mouth of Lost Woods.

"Saria…" Hete called as the portal carried him away.

I sighed.

It was just a foolish child that would hope that I would come out into the village just to prove their worth. But honestly, no matter how much of a pester it is though, I must admit that I am tempted to take the naïve offer. If my fate could only change by going away with a random child…

But that will never be, my wisdom is no match for a child's foolish hopes.

Even if _he _came to me with the offer, my wisdom has the better of me than my heart.

At times like this, I want to cry and cry and cry only to realize that I cannot.

I took out my old ocarina that I had not played in years. It brought back another series of blissful yet agonizing memories of my stolen innocence. I tentatively placed the mouth of it between my lips and blew a stream of air through the tiny instrument.

It seemed obvious that I had not played with it for a first few seconds as shrill and violent shrieks blasted out of the holes. However, the sounds steadied after a while until it became a clear note that vibrated through the woods, rolling off the blades of grass and leaves, dispersed by the winds, and echoing back to me.

I then played the song that I've always played with him as a child. My very soul went into individual notes as sweet memories played inside of my head. We had also used this song as our secret communication method when we could not see each other.

But that didn't work anymore.

I turned my back towards the place I belong.

Then I heard it, the echo of my performance.

Then I felt it, another presence.

Then I recognized it, the playing style that I was all too familiar with.

Then my heart trembled violently from the core as the notes grew closer and louder until it was the only thing that reached my ears. Not even the sound of my own heart could drown the marvelous sweet sounds.

It was unmistakable. It was too familiar to pass. It was too painful to ignore.

Then it all came to an abrupt halt.

There was a brief silence that not even all of the waters of Lake Hylia could not possibly fill. And when he spoke my name, I thought I was almost dreaming, knowing that I do not sleep.

"Saria… I'm here."

The ecstasy of hearing his voice again quickly obliterated as I remembered his status… and mine… and the bitter fact that this encounter should not be happening.

I want to see him so much. I want to run towards him. I want to tell him how much I've missed him. But I don't do such things. So I do not turn back, I do not move a muscle, and I ask him a simple question with forced plain voice that contains no trace of emotion. "Why?"

He is shocked by my choice of words. He is pained that I won't look at him. He is troubled that I would not even give the slightest twitch of gladness, fear, longing… or whatever.

"Saria… please, look at me."

But I couldn't.

We are not the same.

We never _were _the same and never will be.

"I won't."

He took a step closer to me.

"Do not come any closer," I warn him.

"Saria… I came back."

"Foolish of you to do so."

"This isn't necessary… not anymore," He said, and I felt him smile. "I found a way…"

"We were friends. We will always be. But you know we cannot-"

"You can become a mortal." He said, quickly.

I was not sure I heard him right. "Link," I call out the name that had not crossed my lips since our departure and as sweet as it tasted to speak his name again, I again forced myself to take the most bitter and the most thorn-embedded tone. "You cannot change destiny."

"A Life Fairy can."

I froze.

I searched within myself.

I called out for my voice of reason.

I called out to the wisdom that had enslaved me for so many years.

No reply came to me.

For once when I search for its aid, it deserts me.

I do not know how to respond to his words. Logic tells me that I should somehow deny his offer, but without wisdom behind the logic, it was a meaningless set of words and sounds. Even I - a sage - cannot prove logics to be true without any proof of wisdom behind the logic. I waited and searched for the wisdom to take me over. But it did not.

Become a mortal… that solved everything.

But even so…

He gingerly put his hand on my shoulders as a vibrant sensation coursed throughout my body. "I've missed you," His voice was shaking. "Please… _look_ at me."

I turned my head ever so slowly.

I took in his beauty as a leaf took in a sun's ray.

He looked much the same. A single tear was trailing down his flawless face and his golden hair that blew gently in the forest wind lashed it away. His sapphire eyes were filled with sadness and longing that lacerated my heart. When another tear fell to his cheeks, I could take no more.

I touched his face, and he twitched at my cold touch. I meant to solace him, yet my hands were infinitely too small to do such a job. The tear rolled onto my hand as his eyes and my eyes locked in gaze.

Such an odd picture this creates… A full grown man and a small little girl standing in the deepest part of the haunted woods… One crying, the other trying to comfort the teary…

A hero and a sage.

Not a princess, not a lady, not even a pretty peasant. A _sage. _

But at this moment, the differences seemed so little.

He wraps his arms around me and I made no move to stop him. His arms around me, his breath on my neck… his warm heat warming up my ever-cold body… But that was when my wicked wisdom decided to knock some sense into me.

I gently pulled away as I let the malicious servant of fate take over me again. "We can never be, Link…"

He looked at me in disbelief. He reached in his pack and pulled out a bottle containing a violet fairy, also known as the Life Fairy. He opened his mouth to speak but before he found his voice, I silence him with my finger.

"It isn't so simple as you think. Your part of protecting Hyrule is over, however… mine… is not complete… and never will be as long as Hyrule exists. You must go…" I began to turn around, as my heart felt as if it was being hollowed out.

"I saved Hyrule," He cried desperately, as he grabbed my arm roughly. "Because I thought everything would go back the way it was!"

I turned back to him.

"I didn't save it so I could never see you again! I didn't save it so you could be a damn _slave _to this temple! So you even know how much I sacrificed _just _to have things the way they are again?! Do you even know… what Navi did for us?"

"Navi…" The name rolled off of my tongue. So the Life Fairy was Navi…

"Just because I become a mortal… doesn't mean-"

"Come with me," He demanded, as he embraced me from behind me.

My breath stops inside of my throat.

"I didn't fight for _this. _I fought so _hard, _Saria… I'm going to claim you as a reward if I have to… But, I _will _not lose you like I did then."

My heart sings for all the wrong reasons. The fact that he wanted me so much filled me up but I could not let myself be so foolish to give into the bliss of him wanting to fight against destiny itself to get me. But his next words shook me like branches of trees during a violent storm.

"Saria… come with me. _I'll _become an immortal with you to protect this temple… But at least for today… come see the world with me…"

Link? An immortal?

The branches shook but it never broke off. But the trunk itself snapped off from the roots and flew far beyond the sky, letting the winds decide its fate. How irresponbible... the decision I will make now is one of the most fatal mortal treasons.

But I will not let him endure the pain of eternity.

My voice of reason tells me otherwise, yet it does not feel anything as it commands me to obey its orders. It does not care about how much I hate being an immortal and it does not care about the pain it will cause him to be an immortal just because of me. For once, my heart knew more than my wisdom ever will.

I will _not _let him endure the pain of eternity.

And if I must defy the law of nature itself… if I have to leave the temple behind… If I had to face the wrath of the other four sages and the Queen… so be it.

No reasons of this world could stop me now.

I will be Forest Sage no more.


	5. Mortality

A/N: I know this is really short. I will update the next before July though… thank you, everyone :)

* * *

_If anyone asks me if I regret making such a decision, I will proudly answer them "no." _

_I guess being the youngest of sages pay off sometimes. In the area where I am the most foolish among them. Too wise to be human… Too foolish of a sage… Wisdom driven, yet weak at heart… _

_But at least I have a little bit of heart, unlike the rest of them… _

_No matter what they say, no matter what they do, no matter what price I have to pay, I am proud of my decision._

_Yes, I have done a selfish thing. _

_But to save a man I love the most, no price is too great._

_I can suffer anything including the shame and the humiliation of escaping my fate. My duty._

_A sage is my duty no more. _

_My duty now is to make our eternity last. _

_No matter how short that will be._

_If no one will forgive us, our bond will only grow stronger. _

_Death may attack but beauty can never be destroyed during the time it lasted. _

_Eternity does not forever._

_It is the time span of a an immortal beauty.

* * *

_

She looks quite different than she had three hours ago.

I hesitated to touch her face for the past three hours since she was asleep. It looked so soft, that I was afraid that my calloused hands would leave a scratch on her flawless face.

Her hair grew long enough to reach her waist. Her arms and legs grew longer, and her upper body abandoned the square-ness of a child's and filled in the spaces in between with gentle curves that much represented a woman's. Her childish tunic dissolved away and was replaced by a soft dress that looked as light as a feather and as soft as silk, baring her pale arms, delicate ankles, and her gracefully arched neck. Her pretty childish face matured into a flawless face of a woman's, boasting the same pearl-like texture and ivory fairness. Her full, and crescent moon-shaped lashes were gently overlapped between the top and the bottom lid as she slept.

The changes I was seeing , she had not noticed yet.

After the Life Fairy took the effect, she collapsed into this deep sleep as a child.

She will awake into a womanhood.

At first, I was mesmerized as I witnessed the birth of this sleeping beauty in front of me. Bur now after three hours of breathless-ness, I am able to be at peace listening to her sleeping breaths.

The air was getting colder so I wrapped my cloak around her.

I brought her here on the bridge of Lost Woods where she had given me an ocarina so long ago. This was where we had said our good byes to the beloved past and headed out to the bleak future. That future however, is the past now and the new future will begin.

My heart is filled with excitement and joy.

I can barely wait until she opens her eyes and speaks to me in the voice I knew and loved. I want to speak to her like a best friend again. I've missed that too much. But watching her sleep like this was hardly boring and in fact, I probably wouldn't be bored at all if I was to watch her sleep all night.

She was so beautiful to me.

The night was deep, but I could not fall asleep as I gazed upon the wondrous gift that fate had finally bestowed upon me. That night, when she was entranced in her deepest sleep, I was awake than I had ever been in the longest time.

In the morning, she stirred a little in my cloak, before her eyes fluttered open.

I was too exhilarated to even breathe.

Her eyes searched around the forest frantically, and when her gaze met my astonished ones, it was at rest.

A moment lasted that way, with both of us looking at one another, exchanging a silent bliss.

"Saria…" I finally called.

"Did you stay up all night?" She asked, a rather disappointing first thing to say after mesmerizing the hell out of me.

"I… you… you're…"

"Different… I know. I feel different," She said, smiling. She stared at the ground then and her eyes sparkled with tears.

I reached out and took her in my arms for the first time since childhood and wondered how I could let go of her. It felt too nice and it was too real. We were no longer united within our dreams. We were real.

Her soft hands brushed against my arm and touched my face. "I'm not dreaming…" She gasped out, laughing and crying at the same time.

I shook my head to assure her.

Her laughter of joy made me feel as if warm spring showers were sprinkling on my skin.

She was so beautiful to me.

* * *

I can't stop looking at him.

When I couldn't, I didn't; but now that he was mine, I could not tear my gaze away from his perfect face. The face I had secretly yearned for, for so long. However, after all the time longing to speak to him, I could not utter a word. But I was savoring this moment.

Hand in hand with him… walking in the tunnel into a new beginning…

Then we saw a ray of light ahead.

"There's the exit," He said.

I said nothing but I had a knot in my stomach that had been growing since we left for this trail. It was getting tighter.

His hand squeezed mine. "You look so worried," He said.

"I am… a little… I never… I mean, I was always in the forest…" I said.

"So was I. It's okay… I think you'll like it enough… or you can always go back and be a sage," He joked.

I violently shook my head and clung to his arm like a child to his father. "No."

He laughed a little.

And I began to follow him.

What used to eat away at our hearts is now an acceptable light-hearted joke between us. I was too overjoyed to stop at a simple smile. I laughed along with him, in sheer happiness.

I don't think I've done that with him in ages.

But now this is the start.

He and I will be "we" from now on.

As I neared the exit, I stayed closer to him, and the knot in my stomach finally loosened as I stepped into the world beyond me. The tunnel ended as two curving walls created a short path to the world outside.

The sun still shined brightly, however, I felt no hatred towards it. It was a sparkling bright yellow sphere in the center of the infinite blue sky with tiny whips of clouds dancing to the winds. The expansive field of grass knew no end as it extended beyond the horizon with a few trees to disturb the flatness.

I lived in a forest my entire life, and then a temple, deep in the woods. I was never exposed to this kind of enormous open space. I felt liberated both physically and spiritually.

This was how mortals view the sun.

The world was so new, so fresh and so beautiful.

The air felt warm on my skin and the new blood pumping inside of me.

"Welcome to Hyrule," He said, smiling.

I looked at him, showered by the sunlight.

"I have so many things to show you and tell you. Come with me," He said and tug me along.

Did I have a choice? I was completely dependent on him now. No matter where he went, no matter what he was doing, no matter what he wanted, I will always be with him. That is the pledge I swore upon gaining my mortality. No longer do I have the power to protect him, and now the only thing I can do for him is to believe, to love, and to follow.

Like the mortal wives to their husbands.

We held each other's hand like we did what seemed like ages ago. His hands were always warm. I remember a time when this hand used to be smaller than mine. I had held his hand firmly inside of mine then.

But now, his hand folded over mine and it was his hand that held me dear.


	6. Life

Had it all been a dream?

It couldn't have. If I was still immortal, I wouldn't have been able to dream.

I let my hands wander next to me and my heartbeat regulated as his marble-like, yet warm skin brushed against my fingertips. He was still sleeping and I observed him in all his glorious beauty. The warm ray of the sun seeped through the small window to shower us in its radiance and his already-lovely golden hair looked ever-so-divine. He wore a loose, sleeveless shirt over him and I briefly wondered, for a moment, what he would look like if the shirt wasn't there -

My face began to feel as if it was being held only inches above red-hot coals.

As he slept on peacefully, I briefly reflected the events of yesterday; when we were finally permitted to be together, by none other than us. I felt only joy when we finally rode together on his steed over the vast green of Hyrule Field, and as he guided me into the majestic Hyrule Castle, and into the bustling market.

_We spent our day in the market, with Epona safely placed in the stable of an inn that Link lived in. I was very nervous at first, I never thought there could be so many people gathered in one area. Even when we were still among the Kokiri, no festivals could outmatch the population of the everyday-gathering in the market square. And so many different colors… goddesses, if I would have been a tyke who was learning how to distinguish colors, I would have wailed loudly from the overwhelming schemes of colors… The colors were not just the basic rainbow-schemed red to violet. There were different shades from the darkest crimson to the palest shade of pink. I especially liked the pale shades that Link called "pastel." Pink, peach, lavender, sky blue, pale green, pale yellow… It was truly a magnificent feast for eyes like mine who saw green, green, and some more green._

_Not just the colors, but the interactions itself were amazing. There were lovers who passionately declared their love for one another, parents who screamed at their children to stay near them, merchants boasting their products, friends standing and sharing jokes and news, ladies who giggled at handsome men, men who gawked at attractive ladies, carriage drivers hushing their horses, and still more unidentified voices were all interwoven together to fill the air with bustling and vigorous sounds of a busy city._

_There were so many shops too, and some, I could not even recognize what kind of a shop it was. Some clearly stated "Masks," or "Games," and some had a simple picture on the sign, indicating the things they sold. The ones I could see were the stands where fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat were sold, and others which sold small accessories. My eyes wandered from one place to another quite frantically, trying to capture the abundant sceneries all at once._

_But more than half of the time, it irresistibly averted back to his face, in which every time I'd look, he was already in the middle of staring at me._

_He took me to a fruit stand and bought two apples for us to eat before lunch._

_By goddesses, it had been ages since I've tasted anything but bitterness in my mouth. The apple was firm, crispy, tangy, sweet… it was so delicious that I almost broke out in joyous tears again. He made brief stops on every accessory stands, matching necklaces on me, analyzing, putting hair-pins on me, and evaluating. It was quite humorous, really… the Hero of Time, walking in a market, hand-in-hand with a girl and flouncing about, holding a half-eaten apple and jewelry and hair-pins on the other hand if not holding mine._

_Was this joy really_ mine_ to savor?_

_Hearty lunch of warm herb-sprinkled bread, butter, various vegetables, and fruits awaited us, which I ate without honor or shame. I didn't find out until after I was full, that I had eaten the most food, with him smiling contently across from me. He barely ate a slice of bread._

_Then we turned from the crowded streets to the quieter back alley to stop and play at a place called "Bombchu Bowling Alley." It was such a fun game. I felt bad for the chicken in the middle of the lane at first, but I began to purposefully aim for it after it intercepted my bombchu for the millionth time. After all, He'd won two-hundred rupees as a prize and I just wasted precious money. Then I wondered where his incomes would come from._

_I asked him during dinner and he replied that he does any work available since he never seemed to be able to stay at one place. Then he turned serious and asked me if he should secure a place if I did not want to wander around with him._

_I told him I was his and I'd be with him whether he wandered or stayed. I meant it too._

_We squeezed ourselves into a tiny inn room where I crawled into his arms._

_"It's been so long since I've slept," I told him._

_"You were sleeping fine this morning, I thought you'd never wake up," He joked._

_"That doesn't count… That was more like… knocked out."_

_"Then sleep as long as you want," He said, brushing out my slightly tousled hair._

_"Link?"_

_"Mm?"_

_"You can't fall asleep in a dream, right?"_

_He looked at me as if I was the most intriguing thing in the universe and planted a kiss on my forehead. It burned where his lips touched. "You can't lose me anymore. This time, I won't let go," He told me firmly._

_And he truly never let me go throughout the night but I eventually had to squirm out of his iron-grip in order to breathe again._

_If every day would be like yesterday and if every morning could be like this now… to just be able to look at him… I would live an entire eternity without complaint._

By goddesses… Was this joy really _mine_ to savor?

* * *

I opened my eyes in a haste and was quickly satisfied when her face greeted me with the smile I loved more every time I saw it. The greeting spoken from her lovely little mouth however, was unlike anything he'd expected the first thing in the morning.

"Morning, you almost killed me."

"What?"

"It's good that you'd never let me go… just don't kill me next time. I have to breathe sometime," She said, making a sad face at him, but with an undeniable playful grin.

I grabbed her tiny little waist and flung her on my stomach and embraced her as hard as her fragile body would allow. I am not deaf or stupid but I had no control over my actions then and I didn't care. "Good morning," I said, after I let go.

She bounced off of me and looked at me, as if expecting something. "What are you doing today?"

I looked at her momentarily. "I don't know. What do you want to do?"

"Anything you're doing-"

"No," I interrupted. "We are doing what _you_ want to do," I told her.

She looked away from me now to stare at the ceiling. And then she smiled. "I miss seeing the water…" She said, dreamily.

I instantly knew what she meant.

In our young days, we had often played in the stream that flowed by her house. Nearly everyday, we had splashed around, dunking each other's heads, dragging each other down… and be scolded more than once by the Deku Tree for catching a cold. Nothing could have stopped us, though… Out of the water, we were best friends. Once we were waist deep in the clear, sparkling water, we were warriors, determined to splash the life out of the other. How he had missed those days… and Mido would always get so jealous…

"I do too," I told her. "After all, Mido isn't here to ruin our splash-war anymore." The thought made me grin.

She smiled her heavenly smile and I couldn't do anything else but stare at her. It made me feel as if my legs were made of jelly or some similar substance.

We didn't have much to pack; we had a few items and ourselves to carry on Epona. After a light breakfast of eggs and such, we were off to the market to buy us some simple lunch food to eat at the lake. She told me it would satisfy her just fine if we played by the stream that flowed next to the outer castle from the Zora's River, but that wouldn't do for me. Why would I do that when there is the Beautiful Lake Hylia waiting for us?

I mounted her on Epona and led the reins around the market. It was just a bit less crowded since it was morning, but it was not enough to make it a significant difference. I paid a bit for our boxed lunches and some sun-oils so the sun wouldn't completely ruin Saria's silk complexion. I would never forgive that burning ball of flame if it ruins that pearl-soft skin that even I sometimes fear to touch… My hands are so calloused and too rough but it can't seem to stay away from her. Although she doesn't seem to mind…

She rubbed the oil on her arms and legs as we continued to walk out and soon, we were out on the green field that seemed especially radiant under the nice weather. I mounted on Epona with Saria and held her firm in place and nudged Epona into a light trot. The chirping of the birds and the sounds of the grass-blade gently clashing against one another were joined by the cheerful steps taken by Epona and the sounds of our voices.

A squirrel somehow climbed onto Epona and crawled over my tunic and shoulder to lay on Saria's shoulders.

Saria quickly took the delicate thing in her hands and cradled it in the crater of her soft hands. Her slender fingertips caressed the creature as it closed its eyes in contentment.

"Animals still like you," I told her.

"I guess so…" She said, her eyes still on the squirrel.

I watch her.

She always loved animals and similarly, the animals followed her around.

Sometimes, I envied them.

If we weren't on horseback, I would have embraced her so hard… although she was pretty much trapped inside of my arms. Instead, I let my fingertips draw along the soft lines of her arm. It was meant to be a momentary, gentle caress, but when she shivered a little, I didn't want to stop. Soon, my hands were slowly on her bare shoulders, then her neck, traveling down the gentle slope of her back.

The squirrel escaped her hand as she trembled a little more violently but at last, she turned around to lock her gaze to mine. "Link? What are you doing to me?" She asked, ever so innocently.

Her innocence set my heart aflame. No, the fact that she even asked me what I was doing to her made me swallow. It was difficult for me to talk right, and it didn't help that our eyes were reflecting and my bare arms were touching hers.

Her hands slowly inched towards my face… Oh, goddesses… I closed my eyes as her cool fingers trace along my rugged jaw line. Just when I began my futile effort to stop myself, she turned around, her face completely red.

Then she stayed silent the rest of the way to the Lake, not once, glancing back at me.

* * *

"You still angry at me?" He asked me, as he offered his hand to help me off of Epona.

I blinked. "I wasn't angry; I was confused…" I told him. It was the truth. When he touched me, it was a different sort of touch, neither malicious nor friendly. It was… it didn't _exactly_ feel unpleasant, it was sort of unpleasant but more of pleasant than the unpleasant. While I was debating this in my head once again, I hopped off, leaning into his chest. For that instant, I wished that he was touching me like that again, but I quickly shook that thought off of me before he saw me blush.

He left me momentarily to "take care" of some tektike and was shortly back, wiping his sword, and mumbling curses that I could no longer comprehend.

Lake Hylia was beautiful.

The crystal water sparkled, reflecting the sun and drowning the reflection of the sky as blue as Link's eyes. I could see the clear liquid in front of me that dyed itself in the lightest shade of blue a few feet ahead of me, and matured into the deepest blue of sapphire as it stretched out before the horizon. There were no tides as stillness hovered above the waters but serene ripples dispersed into the direction the wind blew. In the far distance, two shacks stood opposite one another and an island connected with bridges awaited us in the corner.

"I'm afraid to taint this water," I told him.

He smiled at me. "You can't taint anything, even if you tried," He joked. But perhaps, he was not joking. I hoped that he wasn't. Although, it would have been a blissful lie…

He took off his sleeveless shirt and tossed it carelessly onto the ground. Before I had the time to peek at him, he grabbed my hand and ran towards the shoreline where ground ended and water began. "Don't worry, Saria… the water isn't cold," He said, with the same childish grin that he always wore when I complained about the temperature of the water. The very same. The exact. Except this time, it would be mine to savor.

I almost cried.

Or, rather, I _would_ have if he didn't fling me into the water, face-first.

Then, I completely grew out of my tender nostalgia and reacted in pure splash-battle rage that was bottled inside of me for these long years: I pulled his ankle and made him suffer the consequences. How dare he attack me first!

All the years of fighting monsters gave him the edge this time, though… he jumped on me before he fell and we tumbled together into the deeper depths. He stood up and helped me along. That was when we faced each other, realizing that the water was barely up to our ankles, and already, we were drenched in water.

I laughed and he echoed mine with his now-deeper voice. But half-way through our harmonized laughter, he bent over and splashed a gallon of water on me. I was shocked: I forgot how large his hands were now. When I recovered from the rude baptism of lake water, he was laughing at me, already distances away from the shore where I stood.

I hurriedly ran after him, my pace slackened by the cool friction of water that clashed against my foot, and pretty soon, my legs were drowned, and the water was up to my waist. He kindly waited for me, ready to dump another attack on me. When he dipped his hand into the water, I quickly dove in and hugged his legs to trip him. It was like trying to topple a tree but he gave in after I poked him in the side, where I knew he was ticklish.

He fell on his butt, and I laughed like a siren, underneath the water. I rose up once again, to launch my own water canon on him when he surfaced. I wasn't surprised at all when it hadn't worked. He always fell for it before and now he was ready for it. He swam and I desperately tried to glide away. But he caught my waist, trapping my arms as well.

He rose and pushed me towards him.

I was expecting him to throw me or feed me water, or something.

But he just looked at me, and made unnecessary heat rush to my cheeks. I didn't want to face him this way, but his gaze held mine and I couldn't look away, as if I was under some spell.

He looked into my eyes as if looking for something, and when he felt as if he found it, he leaned closer to me. "How did I live without you?" He asked, more to himself than to me.

"You can live without me," I said, through my choked throat. "There's air… and water… and… and…"

He didn't let me finish. His lips gently touched mine before he released his tight grip. "With air and water, I _existed_. With you now, I can_ live_," He said.

But before I could swoon and blush at this comment, he swam away and gave me a huge splash.

I swore to myself that after tonight, he may be able to _live,_ but he wasn't going to _exist_ anymore after I drown him in this beautiful lake.


End file.
